You're Not Broke by Accident. You're Broke by Design

"If you're broke, it's not a bug. It's a business model."

Two parasites feed on your financial desperation: banks that trap you in debt, and gurus who sell you escape. They pretend to be enemies. They're actually partners.

Your poverty is their business model. And they're laughing all the way to their offshore accounts.

The $156 Billion Heist in Plain Sight

This isn't theft. Theft implies they're hiding. They're robbing you in broad daylight with a business license.

Wells Fargo created 3.5 million fake accounts without customer consent. The penalty? $3 billion[1] – pocket change compared to their profits. The executives who ran this 14-year scam? They're collecting dividends on their stock options.

Bank of America caught red-handed doing the same thing. Their punishment? $250 million[2] – what they make in a slow Tuesday.

The systematic extraction:

Credit card APRs: 22.8% in 2023, nearly DOUBLE the 12.9% in 2013[3]
Banks pocketed an extra $25 billion in 2023 by raising rates beyond Fed increases[3]
Overdraft hustle: $35 fee on a $24 shortage = 16,000% annualized return. The Mafia would be jealous.
Total American debt: $18 trillion. Every dollar earning compound interest for your masters.

The guru vultures circle overhead:

Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad empire: $3-6 billion extracted from desperate believers[4]
Grant Cardone promised 15% returns after the SEC told him to stop lying[5]
Their product? Selling water to people they set on fire.

Banks: The Architects of Your Prison

Wells Fargo executives knew about the fraud in 2002. Internal investigator: "growing plague." By 2005: "spiraling out of control"[6].

Their decision? Let it run 14 more years. Because why stop printing money?

Senior leadership's actual position: Fraud was "merely the cost of doing business"[6]. Your financial destruction? A rounding error on their spreadsheet.

The debt trap engineering:

APR margins at 14.3% – all-time high. That's pure profit skimmed off your struggle[3]
Even perfect 800+ credit scores saw margins jump 1.6% for NO additional risk[3]
Average victim with $5,300 balance loses $250 yearly to excess margins alone[3]

Jamie Dimon pulled $36 million while JPMorgan extracted $6.5 billion in fees in THREE MONTHS[7]. Your missed payment is his third yacht. Your struggle finances his art collection.

The $156 Billion Heist in Plain Sight

Gurus: Professional Dream Assassins

These predators don't sell hope. They sell weaponized delusion.

Rich Dad's psychological manipulation: Free seminar (bait) → $199 training (hook) → $45,000 programs (gutting)[8].

A 75-year-old widow mortgaged her home for $35,000 in courses. Result: bankruptcy[9]. Kiyosaki's response? Already cashing her check at the bank.

Grant Cardone's Extraction Machine:

Promises 15% returns he knows are fantasy[5]
Charges $100,000 for vaporware – software that never materializes[10]
The scam per his own SEC filings: Buys property cheap → Flips to his fund at premium → Charges commission on the sale → Collects management fees → Bills all expenses to investors → Locks them in with no exit[11]

Hidden cameras caught Rich Dad trainers pushing people to raise credit limits to $100,000 for courses[9]. Drowning people sold anchor necklaces.

The Casualty Report

Banking Victims:

2+ million fraudulent Wells Fargo accounts[1]
Bank of America: Systematically defrauding customers since 2012[2]
Banks paid $3.57 billion in penalties in 2023 – less than they spend on executive bonuses[12]

Guru Body Count:

Kiyosaki's company: $26 million debt, $1.8 million assets. Even the guru went broke[13]
Victims report $70,000+ losses. Zero returns. Destroyed futures[8]
Florida Attorney General forced $500,000 settlement from Rich Dad[14]

Your Predators' Paychecks:

Wells Fargo CEO: $24.5 million ($11,000 per hour for destroying lives)
BofA CEO: $30 million (funded by your overdrafts)
Kiyosaki: $100 million net worth – 100% from selling dreams, 0% from real estate[4]

They're Laughing At You

Cardone on livestream: "You're gonna get 15% returns... You can tell the SEC that's what I said"[5]. He's taunting regulators. Because he knows they're toothless.

His SEC filings literally spell out the scam: Buy → Markup → Sell to own fund → Multiple fees → Investor lockup → Infinite money glitch[11].

Wells Fargo internally called fraud "gaming"[6]. Your financial agony is their entertainment.

The Cruelest Truth

HALF the credit card APR increases were pure greed – zero additional risk[3]. They raised rates because you can't stop them. Because where else will you go?

Kiyosaki? ZERO evidence of real estate success before his book. The entire "Rich Dad" character? Fictional[15]. A fairy tale sold as fact.

Department of Justice prosecutor's assessment of Cardone: "Built on lies and deception... will collapse leaving investors holding an empty bag"[10]. Everyone knows. Nobody acts.

Professional Dream Assassins

Burn Their Playbook

The parasites have a weakness: They need your participation.

NEVER:

Pay for "secrets" (Google has them all, free)
Borrow for "opportunities" (debt for dreams = nightmare fuel)
Trust wealth vendors (real wealth doesn't need your credit card)
Fall for complexity (confusion is the con artist's cologne)

ALWAYS:

Learn free (MIT courses online, YouTube University)
Invest boring (index funds embarrass every guru)
Build slowly (skills compound, schemes collapse)
Live lean (minimalism is insulation from predators)

The Revolution Starts With Math

You're not broke because you failed. You're broke because the system succeeded.

The formula they use: Your Desperation × Their Lies = Their Wealth

The formula that breaks them: Your Awareness × Your Refusal = Their Bankruptcy

Every person who sees through the con is a crack in their machine. Every refusal to play is a wrench in their gears. Every shared truth is a sledgehammer to their foundation.

They built an empire on your ignorance. Time to teach everyone math.

The game is rigged. The dealers are dirty. The house edge is 100%.

The only winning move isn't to play better. It's to flip the table.

Stop feeding the machine. Start starving the parasites.

They need you poor. They need you desperate. They need you believing.

Give them nothing.

DISCLAIMER: This article represents opinion and commentary on matters of public interest based on publicly available information, court documents, regulatory filings, and journalistic investigations. All statements about individuals and companies are supported by citations to public records. This is not financial, legal, or investment advice. Readers should conduct independent research and consult qualified professionals before making financial decisions. The metaphorical language used throughout is for rhetorical effect and does not advocate violence or illegal activity.

References

Wells Fargo Agrees to Pay $3 Billion to Resolve Criminal and Civil Investigations - U.S. Department of Justice (2020)
CFPB Takes Action Against Bank of America for Illegally Charging Junk Fees - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2023)
Credit Card Interest Rate Margins at All-Time High - CFPB (2024)
Timeline of Robert Kiyosaki Bankruptcies - New Silver (2024)
Court Rules Against Grant Cardone in Fraud Lawsuit - Investment Fraud Lawyers (2025)
Wells Fargo Cross-Selling Scandal - Wikipedia
JPMorgan Chase Q3 2023 Earnings Report - JPMorgan Chase (2023)
Rich Dad Education Scam Class Action Lawsuit - Top Class Actions
CBC Marketplace Investigation - Rich Dad Seminars - CBC (2010)
Financial Influencer Grant Cardone Accused of Fraud - HuffPost (2023)
Grant Cardone Scam Discussion - Wall Street Oasis
Bank of America fined $150 million for consumer abuses - CNBC (2023)
'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' Author Files for Bankruptcy - ABC News (2012)
Robert Kiyosaki's company settles with Florida AG - CBS News (2018)
Is "Rich Dad Poor Dad" a Fraud? - Economist Writing Every Day (2024)

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July 22, 2025

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